


Disconnect

by whatacartouchebag



Series: Mercenary AU [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Gen, mercenary au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 07:26:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15383667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatacartouchebag/pseuds/whatacartouchebag
Summary: Accepting a new assignment should be as simple as saying yes sir, and following through until your mark lays broken upon the cold stone. Yet when it's someone you've come to know and possibly trust, problems begin to arise. Do you stay a mole, or do you break free and ensure your own swift end?





	Disconnect

**Author's Note:**

> The first part to a Mercenary AU that's been floating about in my head for years. Essentially, taking the characters we know and placing them in a world where professional killers for hire are the norm, family friendly company fronts for devious happenings are part of everyday society, and life tends to be downright cloak and dagger. Even for the ones you say you trust the most.

The young man cast crimson eyes across the folder that lay open before him in the interrogation room. His expression spoke of obvious disinterest and more than a little contempt at the mission that lay before him, scant as the details were.

A photograph and an address were usually more than sufficient for him.

This time, he needed answers _first._

With a breath of a sigh, he leant back in his seat, folding arms across his crisp, white dress shirt and turning away from the blurred photo; obviously taken at some great distance and aimed at someone who knew how to hide. His skin crawled at the thought, but he knew better than to go against orders.

He knew far too well what insubordination meant.

From across the sparse room, footsteps were silent as Atem’s long-time employer walked to his side, mirroring his attire. Slender fingers reached down to pluck the blurred photo from its place, much like a snake would slither across the grass. Golden eyes glanced over it with feigned interest, and a faint smile settled upon lips.

“I don’t suppose he’d be all that hard for you to find,” came the man’s smooth tenor, a pinch of a frown appearing between brows. “Though there is always a first time.”

Atem gave a brief snort, annoyance flaring within him. “You should know better than to doubt me,” he replied shortly. With that, he stood, hands already closing the folder before him when Paradox moved, snatching the young man’s wrist and clutching it tight, yanking his attention to those dangerous golden eyes.

“ _You_ should know better than to let your tone slip,” came the hiss of warning.

The young man ignored the way his bones protested to the tight grip, meeting those eyes evenly. Despite his usual better sense, he allowed the words to spill from his tongue.

“I wouldn’t have to if the briefing had been a little clearer, _sir_ ,” he told him, fingers still trailing across the folder. Crimson eyes narrowed defiantly. “What is it exactly that you want me to do with him?”

The change was smooth and fluid, and Atem watched as that controlled smile settled upon lips once more. The smile that he never liked. The smile that always meant far more work and bullets than he preferred.

“Get to know him, of course,” Paradox told him simply. “You remember what it was like to have friends, don’t you?”

Atem’s mind refused to acknowledge where the loaded statement wanted to take him; refused to let his mind remember the last person he called friend. No, that was salt that Paradox would always attempt to pour into his wounds.

“Accomplices, _sir_ ,” he bit out, swiftly continuing. “Why your interest in him? Why now?”

Paradox let his fingers relax about the young man’s wrist, allowing him to withdraw it. The man simply held out the photo to him once more, watching as crimson eyes ducked to it.

“Fudo has been a thorn in the sides of our associates for far too long. They know a direct strike is pointless, but an Achilles heel, however…” he let the statement hang, like ripe fruit just waiting to be plucked by the young man.

Atem almost gave into the urge to swallow as he carefully collected the photo between his fingers. How the hell had he heard..? _Had_ he actually heard anything of what had happened between the two of them? He knew insinuation was this bastard’s speciality, but this… this was far too large to pass off as a mere joke or slip of the tongue.

“Well, something is bound to pop into that head of yours,” Paradox continued, ignorant of the plight stirring within his young charge’s mind. “You’ve always been rather creative with your marks, haven’t you.”

The statement did nothing but sit in Atem’s stomach like lead as he stared at Yusei’s blurred image. “So what you’re saying…” he trailed off, not ready to finish the sentence he had to voice.

Paradox replied by way of a soft chuckle. “There’s more than one way to knock a Shooting Star from its perch, Muran.” He gave a sharp thud of both hands to Atem’s shoulders, almost knocking him unsteady as he smiled openly at him. “I’m sure you’ll think of a wonderful end befitting of his legacy.”

With that said, the man began to walk from the room, collecting his suit jacket as he went.

“One last thing…” he began, causing Atem to lift his eyes from the photo, turning to meet his employer’s gaze. The very ice in that gaze almost sent a shudder down his spine. “Cheer up; think of all the extra work this will mean for you with him no longer stealing your spotlight.”

As the man’s soft laughter echoed about the small room, he opened the door and walked out in blissful mirth.

What he left in his stead was a young man whose stomach felt like a rock and knew he couldn’t start shaking while the cameras were still trained upon him. Crimson eyes slipped shut for a moment, allowing the poker face to slip over him as his usual smirk settled across his expression once more. No, they would see no weakness from him tonight. Not here, at least.

Gathering his things like a man off to greet the beautiful morning, he walked from the interrogation room, wondering how he would have to explain this plan to Yusei himself. Did he already know? Had Judai already informed him of Yliaster’s plans for the sharpshooter?

He tried not to think of it as he walked the narrow hallways, looking, for all the world to see, like a young man without a care in the world.

If only they knew how turbulent his thoughts really were.

Atem had been assigned to kill the one person in the world left for him to care about.


End file.
